Buddleia

Buddleia or Butterfly Bush attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators with its fragrant flowers and foliage. The blooms of the Butterfly Bush are vibrantly colored and last from summer to fall giving you and the pollinators plenty of time to enjoy them.

This sun-loving, drought tolerant plant prefers well draining, neutral to slightly acidic, fertile soil. Often times a Buddleia lost over winter is due to a wet season rather than the cold temperatures. Keep a lookout for signs of over watering such as weak stems, fewer flowers and dieback.

Overwintering Buddleia can be tricky. Here are some tips on how to best prepare your shrub for the winter season. The addition of an extra layer of mulch helps protect the roots from freezing. Another option would be to dig the plant up, put it in a pot, and put it in a frost-free location. Avoid pruning the plant right before winter as it weakens the plant/creates weak points before winter. Instead prune in the spring after new growth appears. Be sure to allow enough time for your shrub to establish its root system by planting in the spring or summer. Keep in mind Buddleia are typically late to leaf out in the spring, so be patient! New growth can appear as late as Father’s Day.

Here at Hook’s Greenhouse we love the Dark Dynasty, Humdinger Little Angel and Monarch Blue Knight varieties of Buddleia. The Dark Dynasty and Monarch Blue Knight varieties feature light lavender to blue purple flowers growing darker with age. These large shrubs grow to 30-84″ high and 42-78″ wide. The Humdinger Little Angel variety offers a different look featuring pure white flowers and a round habit. This compact buddleia grows to 30-48″ hight and 42-60″ wide allowing it to fit into smaller gardens. All three of these fabulous plants bloom from mid summer to fall with 10-12″ panicles of fragrant flowers and are a favorite of the Monarch butterflies. These Buddleia are in two gallon pots and sell for $12.99, but with our current 50% OFF ALL PLANTS SALE are only $6.50! Come in and get yours today!